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Gustavo Arellano on Colberto Reporto

2007-04-28T15:13:00.000-07:00

Great Video

2007-03-06T20:21:00.001-08:00

Cold War Kids - Hang Me Up To Dry

Music Update

2007-03-06T19:16:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been about five months since I last posted something, shit!

Below are some records that I haven't been able to put down for a very long time as well as some more recent gems. Most of them are from the second half of last year.

Cold War Kids - Robbers & Cowards (2006)
"Like Creedence Clearwater Revival before them, blog-buzz kings Cold War Kids channel the gothic spirit of the Deep South -- at least as imagined by dudes from California. But this suburban Los Angeles foursome has some actual holy-roller bona fides. Three of the four (frontman Nathan Willett, bassist Matt Maust and guitarist Jonathan Bo Russell) met at an evangelical Christian college, and the spirit of an old-fashioned tent revival infuses the band's remarkable story songs. Over cave-stomp drums, barroom piano and chiming post-punk guitars, Willett -- whose high tenor sounds a little like Jack White's -- spins tales that wouldn't seem out of place in a Flannery O'Connor collection. There's a drunk who continually disappoints his family ("We Used to Vacation"); a death-row inmate imprisoned for killing his sister's would-be rapist ("Saint John"); a criminal on a midnight run with "bourbon and a pistol in the dash, out of sight" ("Rubidoux"). And much as Bruce Springsteen feels deep sympathy for the murderers and fuckups who populate Nebraska, Robbers & Cowards has a deeply Christian take on its titular anti-heroes: that even the worst among us is capable of redemption."

Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block (2006)
"It's a major work of post-everything indie rock that has enough hooks, production genius, and emotional strength to make other rock acts (indie or otherwise) sound like they are just wasting everyone's time."

Fujiya & Miyagi - Transparent Things (2007)
"Their name is Japanese, their influences are German, and their new album, Transparent Things, is named after a novel by Russian Vladimir Nabokov, but Fujiya & Miyagi are actually a Brighton, U.K. trio releasing their first disc stateside, full of bleeping, sardonic wit and atmospheric vibes. Transparent Things collects a stew of the band's British singles together.

Fujiya & Miyagi have brewed up a drifting soundtrack to ennui, down-tempo dance tunes for a rainy drive or a 3 a.m. ponder. The songs never quite explode into full-out release, but amble along in a groove that's gently uplifting. Circling, repetitive riffs flow along with deadpan surrealistic vocals to create a systematic mood throughout Transparent Things. At its best, it all induces a trancey reverie about the always-on, wired world we live in - or as vocalist David Best murmurs in the title track, "I look through transparent things and I feel okay.""

Kelley Stoltz - Below the Branches (2006)
"Kelley Stoltz seems to have a bottomless well of great songs. Catchy tunes and great vocal melodies seem to come as easily as breathing for this guy. There's nothing really new or earth-shattering about this album, but that's not a prerequisite for great rock & roll as Kelley Stoltz demonstrates once again."

The Pinker Tones - The Million Colour Revolution (2006)
"The Million Colour Revolution is based in club-oriented dance music, but it layers in elements of indie pop, bossa nova, European film soundtracks from the '60s, various countries' folk musics, and influences yet more unexpected. Hugely entertaining, and much more cohesive than the laundry list of influences would suggest, The Million Colour Revolution is both a giddy giggle and an appealing piece of electronic dance-pop."

Sean Lennon - Friendly Fire (2006)

2006-09-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

Sean Lennon, the son of Yoko Ono and the late John Lennon, is expected to release his sophomore album, "Friendly Fire," this upcoming Octobre 3rd.

So far, the album has received a number of positive critical reviews. If the entire album is consistent with the quality of the couple tracks floating about the internet the album is set for acclaim.

Sebastien Tellier - Sessions (2006)

2006-09-09T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sebastien Tellier, labelmate of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel--better known as Air.

"His performances have now reached an artistic peak, becoming a bare and intense live experience."

"...an intimate and essential album. 'Sessions' is a collection of out of time tracks, in the tradition of the most gifted singers/songwriters."

Personality Test

2006-08-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

50 Most Influential Records?

2006-07-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

According to the UK's The Observer:

Top 5
1- The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
2- The Beatles, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
3- Kraftwerk, Trans-Europe Express (1977)
4- NWA, Straight Outta Compton (1989)
5- Robert Johnson, King of the Delta Blues Singers (1961)

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale (2006)

2006-06-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

"While the rest of the Wu-Tang Clan now seems a faint memory from hip-hop's '90s era, Ghostface has become a one-man force in maintaining the vitality of the Clan."

Download Here

Beirut - Gulag Orkestar (2006)

2006-06-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

"While it may sound like an entire Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs as mournful ballads and upbeat marches, Beirut's first album, Gulag Orkestar, is largely the work of one 19-year-old Albuquerque native, Zach Condon..."

"Horns, violins, cellos, ukuleles, mandolins, glockenspiels, drums, tambourines, congas, organs, pianos, clarinets and accordions (no guitars on this album!)"

Download Here

Devendra Banhart - Cripple Crow (2005)

2006-06-17T18:00:00.002-07:00

"...his most pretty and accessible. It's lush, warm, and inviting."

Stream Album Here

Little Miss Sunshine

2006-06-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Due out July 26th

"A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus."

View the trailer

Tapes 'n Tapes - The Loon (2006)

2006-06-17T17:50:00.000-07:00

"...a fresh vision through eloquent pastiche."

Download Here

Hot Chip - The Warning (2006)

2006-06-17T17:47:00.000-07:00

The Warning is the 2nd album by Hot Chip.

Download Here

The Magic Numbers - The Magic Numbers (2005)

2006-06-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

"...an unfashionable blend of soft country pop with Fifties and Sixties inflections..."

Download Here

José González - Veneer (2005)

2006-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Jose’s sensual, sensitive, powerful vocals and supernaturally gifted guitar playing truly recalls artists like Nick Drake, Elliott Smith, Hayden, and Mark Kozelek.

Download Here

Peaches - Impeach My Bush (2006)

2006-06-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

Impeach My Bush is Peaches' third long-player.

Download Here

The State I'm In

2006-04-23T19:57:00.000-07:00

The following will come as a surprise to the majority of people who have come to know me. In general, it’s an admission of a personal transformation that recently took hold of me. I’ll try to keep it brief so that it isn’t a burden to read. Feel free to comment below—actually, it would be much appreciated if you would.

Starting with the end of the summer and continuing through fall quarter a shroud melancholy fell about me. It wasn’t especially severe—no more serious than the average person’s passing “down” time—but it was considerably different in outlook. That time wasn’t a time of destructive, negative thoughts for me. It was a time in which I gained a special, maybe intense, appreciation for life; the melancholy came from a sense of inability to fully appreciate life under the weight of life’s brevity.

I anticipated that my time in South America would leave a lasting impression on me. In order to fully experience and understand my time down there I took a vow of sobriety (I drank once this past quarter—the occasional glass of wine and pisco sour with dinner were exempt—and in the past seven months I’ve drank 3 times) and “chastity”—for lack of a better word.

Traveling in/through Latin America for anyone of Latin America or of Latin American descent is a shaping experience. An entire continent of unknown people with whom you share intense connections in all dimensions: history, language, culture and religion—a continent of unknown known people. It’s the perfect setting for self-discovery.

The ultimate manner in which I was personally affected was entirely unexpected. My first realization (which set off a chain reaction of realizations) was the degree to which we all suffer from simple-mindedness. When you’re transplanted from one set of people to another you realize how incredibly plain some people are. Simple-mindedness is but the root of closed-mindedness, hypocrisy, ignorance and uniformity. In the end it leads to posturing, artificial, fake people. Both liberals and conservatives share these faults; they’re equally ignorant and close-minded.

My disparagement of liberals opened me up to a new reality in which I’ve become increasingly socially conservative. No, I’m not a “sexist homophobe”—far from it. I’ve grown uncomfortable and uneasy with the tag of “Liberal” that’s all. These are but a few of the reasons: Modern society is threatening the family—the backbone of civilization. Today in our “throw-away” society everything has become disposable, automatic and replaceable—including marriage (look at our rampant divorce rates). No one sees the value of sacrifice, effort or repair anymore. There’s more weight and truth in tradition than most people are willing to admit. Lastly, women in Latin America without having to recur to abstract rejection of “patriarchy” embrace their femininity and find in it an incredible source of power and confidence—in the US it seems as if women go out of their way to imitate men.

Quite fascistically, living in a homogenous society where I knew no one but fit in perfectly was incredible and allowed for an enormous amount of introspection. In a manner of speaking, for three months I saw myself through a mirror and that mirror was Latin America. I realized lots of things, questioned my beliefs and scrapped a fair number of them. I would say I'm a lot more Latin American now—that's simplest explanation. I've become more conservative on social issues but at the end of the day my belief in social democracy has never been stronger.

I recently took an online quiz and although a caricature there is some truth in it.

Democrat 67%
Socialist 58%
Anarchist 58%
Communist 50%
Fascist 50%
Republican 33%
Green 33%
Nazi 17%

Third (Latin American) Podcast

2006-04-01T00:12:00.000-08:00

Playlist:
1. Seu Jorge - Tive Razão (Brasil)
2. Los Amigos Invisibles - La Vecina (Venezuela)
3. Leo Quinteros - Fumadores (Chile)
4. Gepe - Namas (Chile)
5. Los Bunkers - Llueve Sobre la Ciudad (Chile)

“Y por otra parte, no todo el público está dispuesto a someterse a los cánones estéticos horribles de la industria musical, que por lo demás sigue insistiendo en publicar discos que no tienen que ver con la vida de nadie aquí.” -Leo Quinteros

Download Here

Second Podcast

2006-03-31T23:56:00.000-08:00

Playlist:
1. The Long Blondes - Unknown
2. Hot Chip - Shining Escalade
3. The Rosebuds - Back to Boston
4. matt pond PA - Closer
5. Super Furry Animals - Oi Frango

“What I find really exciting is when the Beach Boys top the charts and it’s pop music, but it’s incredibly bizarre and different. Or when Destiny’s Child have a crazy record, but it’s top of the charts. I find that so great, when there can be pop music and everyone can get it, but it’s totally weird music when you dissect it. That’s what I’m always aiming for: to make something that touches a lot of people, but to do things slightly out of the ordinary.” -Joe Goddard of Hot Chip

Download Here

Inaugural Podcast

2006-03-31T23:47:00.000-08:00

The things I say are kinda cheesy.

Playlist:
1. The Joggers - Wicked Light Sleeper
2. The Clientele - Saturday
3. Wolf Parade - Shine a Light
4. José González - Heartbeats
5. Love is All - Make Out
6. Jens Lekman - The Wrong Hands

Download Here

What the Cards Say...

2006-03-29T18:10:00.000-08:00

So my Chilean host mother reads Tarot cards as a hobby. She's been doing it for years now, has read lots of books and has even taught courses. As a good-bye gift she read my cards:

Salvador Perez - 17 October 1985
Buffalo of Wood in the year of the Dog (2006)

Hours of dominance: between 1 and 3 am (brother of Capricorn). Your element is water--accordingly your emotions are profound and your negative polarity is "yin." You like to follow those who offer solidity and security.

Your aroma: musk
Your tree: apple
Your number: one (1)
Your flavor: sweet
Your stone: obsidian
Your verb: persevere

Calm, methodical, ordered, trustful. Obstinate and inflexible. Faithful partner, strong personality. Will meet his future with patience and dedication. Tenatious, you never allow yourself to abandon a project undone. You never break your promises. Ingenuous. You love traditions, you follow the rules. You like clarity and you are direct. Rancourous, you forgive with difficulty. Under an impenetrable and quiet casing you conceal great ability and intelligence. You distinguish yourself through your ethical sense, integrity, justice and impartiality. You easily reach a global view of situations. You enjoy a well deserved applause for which you strive to distinguish yourself. You confront a somewhat confusing year. Long-awaited trips present themselves. You must respect your own rythm to avoid becoming irritable. You shouldn't be intolerant. Your love life will be warm and full of obligations. Don't demand too much of yourself. Enjoy life, relax and let your sense of humor take hold.

Your current situation and near future:
At this moment: travel, movement, action. Being taken along without much say on what happens. Also, victory, triumph! This is influenced by Force, the commencement of activity there is conscious management, bravery, creativity, your most intimate strengths and impulses and with your sight set on the future. Act by instinct, with "animal" strength.

In the past and very attached to the actual there is the start of studies, professional renovation, creativity, ability, astuteness. A search at moments vacillating, this has to do with youth and lack of experience. Also in the recent past there is a woman or an attitude that has to do with the explosion of creativity, they are unreasoned emotions, sentiments, abundance and creative action. Although you are conscious of this person or attitude you have distanced yourself from her, you have avoided her because it is a situation that produces conflict, a positive crisis and one that produces itself at a good moment for you.

At your age you have unlimited passion and energy but without a fixed objective. "You walk without knowing your destination" but you have to develop the joy of living (even if you find it to be superficial).

You begin a new stage in your life (after a crisis) that because of your personality you will provoke in a radical manner, something like "destroying to rebuild," this is something that is developing in you. This has to do with the essence of change, unconscious work, rupture, an essential movement. In this process you will need help (guidance) to find the form to express this energy in a positive way.

Your sentiments with respect to this are "a pause," rest, halting, wait, sacrifice, suffering, immobility, delay. Use this time of pause to deepen your projects, make it an "apparent pause" with great inner activity because you are between two important stages in your life and what comes next is EXCELLENT. The figure of your father as a central element in the construction of your personality. Stability in all senses, the capacity to pacify. "Reign by presence" success, equilibrium, potential, stable home, honesty, sincerity, trustworthiness, hardworking, supportive, great administrator. Triumph, rational spirit. Resolution card: Emperor!

Dirección: 125 Arquitecto Gonzalo Mardones

2006-02-15T12:58:00.000-08:00

I’m sorry if this entry is a bit scattered but I felt I needed to touch on everything mentioned and didn’t have time to organize it in a more cohesive/comprehensive way.

I’ve been in Chile for two months now. And when I say “two months” it seems like nothing. It’s almost as if speaking about it trivializes it. Anyways, in these two months I’ve come to know a good part of the city. I must say one thing—although the Metro (subway) is great, clean, efficient and all—what public transportation system stops running at 10:30 pm? Come on.

Fortunately, my initial bashing of Chilean culture was a little misplaced. It only picked up on the superficial reflection of the culture. There is a great degree of complexity and resistance within the underbelly. Yes, there are people who unquestioningly accept any and all aspects of America life. For example, my host mother knows of this lady who celebrates Thanksgiving (in all its splendor and ritual) when basically no one else in the entire country knows or cares about Pilgrims or the Mayflower. Others—what seems to be the majority—pick and choose. They incorporate certain American AND European cultural items and adapt and transfigure them. Clothing and music are great examples. For guys something very typical is to wear male capris, a sleeveless shirt and Brazilian sandals. Haircuts here are, as far as I can tell, unique. Lots of guys wear these sort of mini-mullets which look pretty chic and not hickish at all. They’ve also got rat tails which can also look cool but they’re much much harder to pull off without looking ridiculous. In terms of music, at least the music I’ve been exposed to here in Chile, there’s a lot to say but I’ll stick to two main points. People listen to all sorts of music—good and bad, from other parts of Latin America, the US and Europe. Within the national scene, a lot of contemporary music delicately blends strains of Chilean and Latin American folk music with electronic elements and elements initiated within American and European independent music. Yet another, smaller, group is one which exists amongst both the wealthy and poor. It clings to the national culture and wants nothing to do with anything foreign.

In Santiago I live at the western border of Providencia (lower-middle-class to upper-middle-class neighborhood) next to Bellavista (a working-class, lower-middle-class, bohemian neighborhood where Pablo Neruda once lived) hugged by Cerro San Cristobal (a hill on which there is a church, a zoo and a park) in the north. I live on Manuel Montt and 11 de septiembre. Manuel Montt is lined with restaurants and bars (there are a few universities just south). 11 de septiembre is a street which Pinochet renamed to commemorate his rise to power. There is a legal as well as a street campaign to change the name of the street back to Avenida Providencia Sur. There are people who’ve made some ingenious stickers of the same color as the street signs that read “Av. Providencia Sur” and have superimposed them on the existing street signs. I live with wonderful woman named Marcela. She’s a fifty-something year-old divorcee artist who reads a lot.

Geographically, the country is extremely diverse. From the driest deserts in the world in the north to the beautiful forested Lake District south of Santiago to the Chilean Patagonia in the south populated by fjords, glaciers and turquoise lakes. From the north to south of Santiago there are great beaches. Isla Negra (a beach close to Santiago where Pablo Neruda once lived) is particularly beautiful. Recently I traveled to the Lake District (which is fantastic). The region is inhabited by a considerable German-immigrant population. The influence of German culture is blatant especially on the architecture and the people. Pucon is a gorgeous resort town in the Lake District which I’m told looks a lot like Aspen. People practice a lot of action-adventure sports there. I ate shit trying to climb a volcano, zip-lined and dominated level 4 whitewater rapids during my stay there. Chiloe is an island just south of the Lake District only accessible by ferry. The island is unique in that it has a strong culture distinct to the rest of the country—in an imperfect analogy, Chiloe is Chile’s Hawaii.

The subject of Pinochet is a very delicate one. Most people refuse to say anything too strong or concrete and usually express either lukewarm approval or distaste. There are people though who hold strong opinions and don’t care for conciliation.

One of the less appealing and more surprising aspects of Chile is the blatant hatred for Peruvians here. There is the historical hatred of war between the two countries but on top of that there is also racism stemming from Peruvian immigration into Chile. It’s some shady business.

One of the things I enjoy most is the concept of time and the appreciation for family here. Although people are hard-working they know how to enjoy their time. They take long vacations two-weeks to a month. They have “onces” which is a tea-time-like hour. They take siestas. Some people go home for lunch. Some businesses close for lunch and entirely on Sunday. And they party “‘til six in tha mornin’!” literally. The family is THE institution, nothing is more sacred.

In terms of food, people eat way too much mayonnaise, avocado and bread. I never thought you could eat “too much” avocado. I’ve been proved wrong. I do like this drink called Fanschop. It’s Fanta and beer (a schop = a pint of beer, more or less). It tastes like cheap citrus-y champagne.

Lastly, I’d like to have a linguistics pause. There isn’t as much slang in Mexico but there’s a lot. Some examples are: bacan, ¿como estai?, ¿cachai?, la huahua, cahuin, choro, ¡pucha!, fome, huevon, la mina, el carrete. In sentence form: “Pucha huevón, el carrete de anoche fue fome!” = “Fuck man, last night’s party sucked!” They’ve also got a distinct name for basically everything: Frutilla = Fresa = Strawberry, Maní = Cacahuate = Peanut, Palta = Aguacate = Avocado, Porotos = Frijoles = Beans, Ají = Chile = Pepper, Pevre = Salsa = Salsa, Choclo = Maíz = Corn.

Santiago de Chile

2006-01-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

I arrived in Santiago last Friday, the 30th--I believe. I had an 11-hour layover in Miami the day before. I don´t want to be overly critical and I don´t know how much of its present condition can be attributed to the recent hurricanes but Miami is a terrible city. The beaches are pristine and beautiful though. The flight itself was super nice.

Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport is in the outskirts of the city. From the airport I took a shuttle (they´re called transfers here) to the new Stanford center. The center is great. The ride to it wasn´t pleasant but eye-opening. The outskirts of the city are occupied by slums and shanty neighborhoods. The city itself itself is beautiful but also very priviledged in comparison to the rest of the country and in absolute terms. I dropped off everything except my backpack and left for a hostel. The primary mode of transportation is the Metro (subway); it´s clean and efficient. From there we went to Plaza Italia which is lots of congregations happen--mostly of political nature. That particular afternoon there was lots of political campaigning going on in the form of flag waving and leaflet distribution. [On the 12th of December none of the candidates managed to achieve an absolute majority--required by law to win the presidency] This upcoming 15th of January the run-off election will take place between Michelle Bachelet (of the Concertacion alliance, left-of-center) and Sebastian Piñera (the right-wing candidate). At the moment Bachelet leads the polls.

From Plaza Italia we went to Bellavista which along with Ñuñoa are the bohemian centers of Santiago. The main avenue is lined with small restaurants and bars. La Chascona--one of the homes of Pablo Neruda, now a museum--is located here. From there we went back east to Providencia (where the Stanford center is located) and had dinner. Late at night we returned to Barrio Brasil (a quarter popular with students) and slept.

The next morning we decided to go to the bus station and buy tickets to go North--our (Laura Rodriguez being the other person) destination, La Serena (a coastal town 8 hours north of Santiago). Laura being uptight insisted that we take the bed bus up there. The other options being semi-bed and regular seats. We arrived early the next morning and at the bus station we were approached by Mauricio Berrios and very nice man who owns a hostel near the center. Laura refused to take a ride with him and insisted we take a taxi. We took breakfast which consisted of bread, cheese, jam, butter, jam and ¨coffee¨(Nescafe isn´t real coffee). We dedicated the rest of the day to checking out town, going to the beach. The family running the hostel invited us to their family New Years´Eve dinner and we decided to accompany them. We brought 2 bottles of champagne along. At dinner we spoke extensively with a Czech journalist/winemaker. He asked me about US foreign policy and I asked him about life since the end of communism. Afterwards, midnight came, sirens played over the radio and the fireworks began. Everyone hugged and kissed everyone else. Mauricio´s father was there as well. The man to me seemed a bit looney (Mauricio´s wife, Mary agreed). He seemed to be a man who shirked from his responsibilities his entire life and, in general, very transient. I played along. Mauricio son, Mauro (about 4-years-old) was unforgettable--he wouldn´t stop taking about the fireworks for days. The conversation and pisco-drinking continued into the late night. Eventually, I dropped what I now like to call the ¨Pinochet Bomb¨and asked about life since and during the Pinochet regime. Most people seemed very reserved and staved-off from making strong statements.

The people of Chile outside of Santiago are very kind, light-hearted, caring, proud and helpful people. They´ll treat you as if you were a close relative who´s returned from a long trip. The people of the capital on the other hand are dry, curt and unsympathetic. Moreover, the people of the capital are excessively ¨American¨and try very hard to imitate US clothing, music and culture--something which was very hard for me to see and accept as a reality. What bothers me the most is they unquestionably love everything American. Terrible American pop music, fake, cheap American clothes are seen in high-regard. Burger King, McDonalds and Pizza Hut are ubiquitous--especially at the Malls. I should also say that there are strong traditional, as well as resistant anti-American sectors within Chilean society.

On the 2nd of 2006 Laura went of some tour of some islands close-by. It didn´t sound that great so I roamed about. I called my father and wished him a Happy Birthday. I went to the center, mailed out some letters and bought some inexpensive Brazilian sandals called Havaianas. I went to La Recova and bought myself a hat. Later that night we went to the near-by town of Coquimbo to its Barrio Ingles (which is a very nice part of town lined with restaurants and clubs). We had dinner with a pair Swiss kids around our age that Laura had met during her tour (Tomino & Fabienne).

Oh, I forgot to mention that on the night of the 1st Laura and I had dinner at this authentic Chinese restaurant in La Serena. The food was outstanding and the situation was increadibly fascinating. The idea that this family had immigrated from China to a small beach town in Chile was a bit incomprehensible for me.

Tuesday Laura and I took a tour of the Elqui Valley. It was, literally, magnificent. We went inward a bit and stopped at a huge dam. Apparently the dam was built where an old town used to be--now it´s all underwater. Our tour said the inhabitants were financially compensated and given new homes to live in. From there we went to a pisco factory, one owned by CAPEL the most popular pisco manufacturer--CAPEL stands for Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera Elqui Limitada. From there we went to the nearby town of Vicuña which was once home of the Noble laureate Gabriela Mistral. From there we travel through Elqui Valley. My God, this place is incredible. It felt like a dream being there, it was so beautiful. Perfectly Mediterranean, picturesque, enchanting vineyards dotted with very small towns--it was heavenly. I´ve never seen a more beautiful place. At lunch a VERY passionate discussion took place between our tour guide (a very liberal, very intelligent man), us and two Frenchman (one, an agreeable student, the other, a fat ignorant old man from Burgundy). The discussion was centered on history, the effects of globalization and traditional cultures. In the Valley we visited the winery in Pisco Elqui where pisco was first made. It´s still manufacturing although its production is limited. From there we backtracked to Montegrande the town where Gabriela Mistral was born and went to the ¨Schoolhouse-Home¨Museum of hers. That evening we returned to La Serena said goodbye to Mary and Mauricio and took the overnight bus back to Santiago, arriving on the morning of the 4th.

The 4th, today the 5th have been and I anticipate tomorrow the 6th as well to be off-days. We´re now staying at a hostel of the South American chain Che Lagarto. This particular hostel is a renovated old mansion. We´re just blocks from the National Palace--La Moneda. Today we went to Vitacura and Las Condes (suburbs east of Santiago), Laura wanted to get a sense of where she would be living. We went to the cinema and had dinner and one of the 4 Mexican restuarants in all of Santiago.

Lots of photos to come. Besides the regular photos, I´m compiling a graffiti album cataloguing political graffiti throughout Chile--and there´s lots and lots of it.

http://santiago.indymedia.org/
http://www.partidoradical.cl/
http://jjcc.cl/
http://www.pschile.cl/

Ciudad de Mexico

2006-01-02T12:12:00.000-08:00

As promised I´ll say a bit a about Mexico City. I´ll be brief though because I want to tell about Santiago de Chile and because I had already written a fair amount when the a blackout happened just minutes ago at this internet cafe.

The most telling and appropriate word to describe Mexico City is contrast. From the Airport I took a taxi to the hostel I was staying at in the center plaza, el Zocalo, where the National Palace (which contains famous Diego Rivera murals) and the Cathedral are located. The ride is about 20 minutes long and tours the outskirts of the city which are primordially composed of dirty, crime-ridden slums. The plaza is sorrounded by mid-range to swanky hotels and discotheques. Its colonial architecture disguises the fact that it´s built on top of the Aztec temple of Tenochtitlan (Templo Mayor). The temple was discovered 27 years ago by electrical workers. To the west of el Centro Historico (the focal point being el Zocalo) there´s Alameda (a large park) and Bella Artes (the National Theatre--whose interior is decked with famous murals). The main boulevard, Paseo de la Reforma runs East to West--it´s incredible. Further west along Reforma there´s Zona Rosa which is a financial and shopping center that entertain a happening scene at night. Condesa is the bohemian quarter. Further west in Chapultepec and this is where the National Museum of Anthropology, the Museum of Modern Art and the National History Museum (a converted castle, where Moctezuma, Cortes, Maximilian of Hapsburg and Porfirio Diaz all once lived); it´s jawdropping. The Siqueiros murals will bring you to your knees. North of Chapultepec are the privileged neighborhoods of Polanco and Roma--all the streets are named after poets and philosophers. in the south there´s the neighborhood of Coyoacan (Coyo = Coyote, Huacan = Place of)--where Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky once lived. It´s a nice, fun, quaint place. Forty-five minutes north is the mind blowing sacred city of Teotihuacan (Teoti = Gods, Huacan = Place of). The main corridor is the Avenue of the Dead. The main temple is that of the Sun on the right. The second temple is at the end of the Avenue and is the Temple of the Moon.

Another example of contrast was the night I went to an ¨antro¨ (or discotheque) right behind the Cathedral. It was this free party being thrown by the Spanish Cultural Centre. One of the girls (Mariana Huerta from Stanford--who I met randomly) I was with was invited and it was spread only through word of mouth. The façade of the building is centuries old but the interior was ingeniously post-modern (recently remodeled). There were galleries and art installations on the first few floors. The party was on the roof. There was a dance floor, tables and a full bar. There was a full moon. There were 5 Djs with heaps of audio visual equipment playing drum n' bass. There was a projector onto which a few video artists projected images and video. The place and the people were uber trendy. Joints and pipes circulated left and right. Although the majority of the people there were "fresas" (wealthy kids) because of the party's word of mouth nature there was a fair amount of non-"fresas."

The city is swamped by tourists during the Summer, especially Europeans. I met two Irish girls, two French guys, a German, an English girl and an Australian.

The city is a meeting place between contrasts. A meeting place between Northern and Southern Mexico (two distinct cultures smashing themselves into one another in this central valley). A meeting place between rich and poor. A meeting place between old and new. Ethnically, culturally, socially the city is an explosion.

Distrito Federal

2005-09-19T02:15:00.000-07:00

I just arrived from México City. Photos and notes will posted soon enough.